Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman on Friday announced that he will meet United Nations envoy Maria Angela Holguin for the first time in December, most likely on December 5.

He made the remark following his first meeting with UN special representative Khassim Diagne at his official residence in the northern sector of Ayios Dhometios, with the announcement having come as something of a surprise, given that it had previously been expected that Holguin would visit the island in the first two weeks of November.

The Cyprus Mail understands that the likely delay has come at Erhurman’s behest, with it also likely that the next enlarged meeting, which had been expected to take place towards the end of the month, now also set to take place at a later date, in all probability after Erhurman and Holguin meet for the first time.

Erhurman is expected to use the extra time to attempt to build closer relations with the Turkish government, which had until he was elected as Turkish Cypriot leader on October 19 been openly in favour of a two-state solution to the Cyprus problem, a position at odds with his own preferred federal solution.

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He is expected to make his first visit to Ankara since being elected next week, while he said on Friday that he will meet President Nikos Christodoulides “in the coming weeks”, following a telephone conversation the pair held earlier this week.

“We emphasised on the phone that we would meet with our own representatives, without the involvement of the UN,” he said, adding that he will inform Christodoulides of a date in due course.

Meanwhile, Diagne had said after Friday’s meeting that he and the UN will “do everything possible to work towards” a solution to the Cyprus problem.

He said he had offered Erhurman his congratulations on undertaking the role of Turkish Cypriot leader this month, and made reference to a letter sent by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to Erhurman earlier this week.

On this point, he said he recalls Guterres’ “commitment to work for the wellbeing and security of all Cypriots in order to secure a peaceful resolution and a sustainable solution to the Cyprus issue”.

“Towards that end … I assured him that we will do everything possible to work towards the achievement of that goal,” he said.

He added that Thursday’s meeting had been a “courtesy call”, during which Erhurman had briefed him on his positions on the Cyprus problem.

“I listened to his views, after having listened to the view a few days ago of [President Nikos Christodoulides]. I now look forward to working with both leaders constructively,” he said.

In the letter, Guterres had said he wished to “reaffirm” his “unwavering commitment to the security and the wellbeing of Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots”, and spoke to this end of “the UN’s readiness to support efforts to find a sustainable solution in Cyprus which will benefit all Cypriots and contribute to peace in the region”.

He also said he was committed to holding a third enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem of the year – involving Cyprus’ two sides, its three guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom and the UN – in the near future.

To this end, he added, he has instructed UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin to travel to the island and hold talks with representatives of the island’s two sides.

Christodoulides had met Diagne on Wednesday, and told him of his “political will” to “create the appropriate conditions for the resumption of talks” to solve the Cyprus problem.

He also expressed his will to “address the challenges” and said that talks to resolve the Cyprus problem should resume from where they left off in Crans Montana in 2017.

Erhurman was elected on October 19 and sworn in as Turkish Cypriot leader on October 24.